Grapevine June 3 2007 Market

It looks like we're going to have another nice weekend. As the seasons change so does the vendor lineup. Gales Meadow Farm and Pitkin Winterrowd Farm finished their spring visit with us last week. (Not to worry, both will be back in the fall.) Unger Farm comes back to the market this Sunday and we will see other farms come back in the coming weeks. Josh Kadish will be hosting the monthly Jam session this Sunday so bring a song to sing (other than "Old McDonald").

See you Sunday!

Eamon Molloy
Market Manager

What's Coming To The Market This Week?
Hood strawberries are here! Happy Harvest Farm gave us a sneak preview last week. Jeff will have a lot more this week, as will Unger Farm who returns to the market this week. Besides strawberries, there will be limited supplies of greenhouse grown blackberries.

As for vegetables, spring favorites such as asparagus, rhubarb, snow peas, spinach and lettuce will be readily available. Cucumbers and zucchini stated showing up at markets over the past few weeks and should be in good supply this Sunday. For the complete list of who's coming this weekend check the availability list.

IN
Ancient Heritage Dairy
Chanka's Catering
Cherry Country
Rose City Delicacies

OUT
Packer Orchard/Market Fruit (back June 17)
Little Pots and Pans (back next week)

Cooking Ideas - Strawberry Rhubarb Cobbler

Strawberries don't need much adornment or prepartation. Just wash, stem and eat. But there are a lot of great recipes for strawberries. Strawberry-rhubarb pie is a favorite of many. If you don't have time to prepare and roll out a crust (or if you feel crust challenged), then cobblers are a great alternative. The recipe below is an easy dessert to prepare. Enjoy!

Strawberry-Rhubarb Cobbler

Fruit Filling
4 cups rhubarb stalks cut into 1-inch pieces (Trim outside stringy layer of large rhubarb stalks; make sure to trim away any and discard of the leaves which are poisonous; trim ends.)
2 cups strawberries, stemmed and sliced (about 2 pints)
1/2 cup white sugar
2 Tablespoons of quick cooking tapioca
1 teaspoon of grated orange peel

Cobbler Crust
2 cups all purpose flour
3 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup milk
1 egg, lightly beaten
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Farenheit.

Mix the rhubarb and the strawberries with the sugar, tapioca, and orange zest in a large bowl. Let sit for 30-60 minutes.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Cut the butter in with a fork or pastry blender until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in the milk and egg until just moistened.

Pour fruit into a 13x9 casserole dish. Drop the batter on the fruit. Bake in a 350°F oven for 35 minutes until cobbler crust is golden brown.
Note: Rhubarb leaves are poisonous. Be sure to trim leaves off stalks and discard.

Grapevine May 27 2007 Market

this week
- What's Coming To The Market This Week?
- Cooking Ideas - Bison

Thank you to everyone who braved the wet weather last week. The weather forecast is better for this weekend. If you're planning a Memorial Day barbeque, there are a lot of things you can pick up at the market this weekend. Meat lovers can pick up cuts and sausages from Pine Mountain Ranch or Sweet Briar Farm, seafood lovers can choose from Columbia River Fish, Linda Brand Crab or Oregon Wild. The will be a wide variety of fruits and vegetables to choose from as well. Now is the time to plant tomatoes so take a look at the varieties available.


See you Sunday!

Eamon Molloy
Market Manager

What's Coming To The Market This Week?
Snow peas and sugarpod peas should be available this weekend. Fresh herbs including basil, cilantro, oregano and thyme should be in good supply too. New walla walla and other sweet onions will be in good supply. Many lettuce varieties will be available as will kale, mustard greens, dandelion greens, and For the complete list of who's coming this weekend check the availability list.

IN
Blossom Vinegar
Columbia River Fish
Happy Harvest Farm
Nonna's Noodles
Salubrious

OUT
Ancient Heritage Dairy (back next week)
Chanka's Catering (back next week)
Cherry Country (back June 3)
Rose City Delicacies (back next week)
Little Pots and Pans (back June 10)

Cooking Ideas - Bison

Alan Rousseau of Pine Mountain Ranch raises bison, elk, yak and other less common animals out in Bend. Bison is a very lean, flavorful meat that can be used in any recipe that calls for red meat. Alan shared a recipe with us from the National Bison Association for Cilantro Lime Buffalo Tacos. Since buffalo is such a lean meat, it is important to marinate the steak before grilling. Given the predicted nice weather for the Memorial Day Weekend, you should be able to use your outdoor grill. Enjoy!


Cilantro Lime Buffalo Tacos

1 buffalo steak (round, sirloin tip, top sirloin) 1 inch thick (1 to 1 1/2 lbs)
4 limes
3 cups chopped lettuce
4 cups Monterey Jack cheese
1 cup diced tomatoes
corn tortillas

Marinade:
juice of 3 limes
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 1/2 cups chopped cilantro
2 tablespoons chopped onion

Marinate steak for 8 hours (or overnight) in the refrigerator.

Place buffalo steak on a medium grill (oil grll first) for 4-6 minutes per side, turning only once. Let steak rest for a few minutes before carving into thin strips (about 1/8 inch thick). Build taco with lettuce, tomato and cheese. Add steak strips and top with your favorite pico de gallo.

Grapevine May 20 2007 Market

this week
- What's Coming To The Market This Week?
- Cooking Ideas - Morel Mushrooms

When I first became manager three years ago, everyone was excited when strawberries arrived in the 3rd week of May. As more farmers invested in greenhouses, the first local strawberries starting showing up mid-April this year. Now EVERYONE is expecting strawberries and supply can't keep up with demand. Fortunately, Stephens Farm comes back this weekend so there will be more berries at the market this week.

Oregonians for Health Security will be at the market this Sunday to help eligible people sign up for The Oregon Prescription Drug Program and provide information about health care in Oregon.


See you Sunday!

Eamon Molloy
Market Manager

What's Coming To The Market This Week?

There should be more strawberries available this weekend with Stephens Farm returning to the market. Lettuces, spinach, chard, arugula and leeks will be in good supply as will asparagus. There should be limited supplies of basil as well as green garlic and pea tendrils. Morels should be readily available too. For the complete list of who's coming this weekend check the availability list.

IN
Ancient Heritage Dairy
Blossom Vinegar
Little Pots and Pans
Rose City Delicacies
Rose City Pepperheads
Souper Natural
Stephens Farm

OUT
Cherry Country (back June 3)
Happy Harvest Farm (back next week)
Nonna's Noodles (back next week)
Salubrious (back next week)

Cooking Ideas - Morel Mushrooms

Fresh morel mushrooms are one of the spring wild mushrooms. Available until late spring, these mushrooms have an almost nutty flavor and work well with other spring vegetables. Morels are usually hollow and have a conical cap with a honeycomb surface. Cleaning the sand and grit is sometimes tricky. Try cleaning the caps with a paring knife. If the mushrooms appear sandy, just wash them, drain and allow to dry for a bit.

Sauteed morels are pretty simple to prepare. You can serve the morels as a side dish, as an appetizer (with crackers or toast) or toss with pasta and some parmesan cheese for a quick main course. Enjoy!


Sauteed Fresh Morels

4 ounces morels
1 large shallot, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/3 cup water
Lemon juice
Salt
Pepper

Clean the mushrooms with a paring knife or brush. If the mushrooms appear sandy, wash in water and drain. Cut mushrooms in half (quarter if really big).

Heat the olive oil in a saute pan over medium high heat. Add chopped garlic and shallots and saute until the shallots are appear translucent, about 3 minutes. Add morels and the water, cover and lower heat. Simmer for about 3 to 4 minutes. Remove cover, add a little salt and pepper, raise heat a little and cook until the mushrooms are tender and the liquid has nearly evaporated.

Remove from heat, add a few drops of lemon juice, toss, adjust seasonings and serve.

Grapevine May 13 2007 Market

- What's Coming To The Market This Week?
- Cooking Ideas - Lettuce

Happy Mother's Day weekend!

The weather forecast looks decent but for a market manager who works year-round 60 degrees and cloudy in May looks great compared to 35 degrees and rain in January. It's all a matter of perspective. Nonetheless, the nice sunny weather we've had the last few days can have only helped the Hood strawberries we're all waiting to eat.

As the season progresses, we will have more farms come back to Hillsdale. Hillsdale regulars Lone Elder Farm, Unger Farm, Baird Orchard, Stephens and Liepold Farm should, weather permitting, be back at the market over the next three or four weeks.

George Wolff will be playing at the market for the next two weeks. George is a student at Wilson High and placed first in Classical Guitar in the state competition. Take some time to listen to George play this weekend.

See you Sunday!

Eamon Molloy
Market Manager


What's Coming To The Market This Week?
Asparagus of course will be available this weekend just choose your color, green purple or white. Lettuces, another spring favorite, will also be readily available. Spinach, chard, arugula and leeks will be in good supply too. Strawberries will be available this weekend too. For the complete list of who's coming this weekend check the availability list.

IN
Garden Color
Lone Elder Farm

OUT
Ancient Heritage Dairy (back next week)
Blossom Vinegar (back next week)
Cherry Country (back June 3)
Little Pots and Pans (back next week)
Rose City Delicacies (back next week)

Cooking Ideas - Lettuce

Lettuce is another great spring vegetable. While lettuces can be used in other dishes including soups (yes, soup), the salad course is where lettuce is most often used. Spring is a great time for salad lovers since leafy salads really need fresh ingedients. As I was working out this recipe I realized that I had written down a Fibonacci sequence(each number is the sum of the two preceding numbers or 0,1,1,2,3, ...) of numbers. Hence the recipe's name. (And yes I was in Mathletes in junior high and high school.)

Enjoy!


Fibonacci Salad

1 large head of lettuce
1 tomato, cored and cut into thin wedges
2 carrots, peeled and cut thinly
3 scallions, trimmed and cut thinly
Olive oil
Red wine vinegar
Salt
Pepper

Remove the lettuce core, wash well and dry the lettuce. Gently tear the lettuce leaves into bite size pieces and place in a salad bowl. Add the remaining vegetables. Drizzle oil and vinegar over salad. Add salt and vinegar. Taste and adjust seasonings.

Grapevine May 6 2007 Market

this week
-What's New At The Market This Season?
-Cooking Ideas - Asparagus

The Hillsdale Farmers' Market begins its sixth season this Sunday. To celebrate our growing market, we are giving away 500 plant starts to the first 500 customers this Sunday. We'll also have music by Josh Kadish and a market full of the best food the Northwest has to offer. Rieke Elementary is holding its annual Art Fair this Sunday so when you're done shopping at the market take a look at the artists' works in the Rieke Gym.

See you Sunday!

Eamon Molloy
Market Manager

What's New At The Market This Season?
Every new season brings changes and this year is no exception. We have a number of new vendors this year. Creative Growers and Artisan Fruits and Vegetables will be bringing a wide variety of fruits and vegetables. New prepared food vendors include:

Chanka's Catering (Trinidadian/Caribbean ready to eat)
River Wave Foods (International cooking sauces)
Rose City Delicacies (mustards)

plus two vendors who started in the winter season and are staying on:
Crabapple Company
Rose City Pepperhead Jellies

As many of you know, we implemented a debit card/Oregon Trail card token system last fall. If you've forgotten to bring cash you don't need to look for an ATM machine. With the swipe of a card, you can purchase tokens for use in the market. Thanks to a generous grant from New Season Market (read about its Pacific Village grant program here), we will be not charging a fee for debit card use.

So what will be at the market this weekend? Asparagus will be readily available this weekend. Other spring favorites such as lettuce, spinach, chard, arugula and leeks will be in good supply too. Strawberries started showing up last week and will be available this weekend too. For the complete list of who's coming this weekend check the availability list.

Cooking Ideas - Asparagus
Along with morel mushrooms, leeks and strawberries, asparagus's appearance at the market is another sure sign of spring. You'll find white, green and purple asparagus at the market. Preparing asparagus is pretty simple. Bend the stalk at the base to find the point at which it naturally snaps and remove the woody end. The bottom inch or so of thicker stalks may need to be peeled to remove the thick skin. Asparagus is most commonly steamed or boiled. Cook for 5-7 minutes until the asparagus is just tender. Asparagus can also be roasted or grilled. Just brush the stalks with a little olive oil and roast in the oven or grill until tender.

Asparagus can be used in entrees, side dishes and salads. The recipe below is adapted from Deborah Madison's Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone. Enjoy!


Warm Asparagus Salad on Arugula with Walnut Vinaigrette
1 large shallot, diced
1 1/2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
3 1/2 tablespoons walnut oil
1 bunch asparagus
1 large bunch arugula, stems removed and leaves torn into small pieces
1 hard boiled egg

Combine the diced shallot, vinegar and 1/8 teaspoon salt in a small bowl. Allow the salt to dissove the whisk in the oil.

Prepare the asparagus to your preference. If boiled, remove from water and allow to drain.

Dress the arugula with 1 tablespoon of the dressing. Add the asparagus and spoon the remaining dressing on top. Finely chop the egg (or run through a sieve), sprinkle on top and serve.